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I occasionally hear this phrase from English characters on the telly, and struggle to guess whether it means “I'd welcome an opportunity to swing a fist at him” or “I'd willingly swing from the gallows for killing him,” or something else entirely.

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    It could probably mean either one depending on the context...
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 6:06
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    PS. We don’t have death penalty in UK these days so not many gallows around.
    – k1eran
    Commented Jul 28, 2022 at 8:52
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    @k1eran It would not be the only stock phrase to outlive its natural context.
    – Anton Sherwood
    Commented Jul 30, 2022 at 2:06

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I've always taken it for granted that it means "I'd happily murder him even though I would be hanged for it" (before the abolition of capital punishment in the UK).

However, this British person seems to have other ideas.

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